I love the hues of fall, in the tree leaves and also in the fish. Many species spawn in the fall and the fish put on their most dazzling colors to attract the attention of the opposite sex. The browns take on a rich golden color with vivid spots. The brook trout develop a splash of red/orange across their sides. The colors are never more beautiful.

Today I fished upper 6th Water, a tributary to Diamond Fork, and enjoyed catching beautiful browns. The weather was beautiful and fall colors were still bright. The quakies were naked, no leaves, but the willows along the stream were colorful. Fishing was good and we really enjoyed the trip.

Fall also provides some of the best opportunity to catch big fish. Brown trout become very aggressive in the fall and big fish are occasionally caught in the Green, Provo and Weber rivers, along with other smaller waters. The Weber is often under-ratted. Some of the biggest browns in Utah are pulled from its waters durin the fall.

Lake trout also spawn in the fall and they become more predictable as they congregate near spawning grounds. The giant lakers are always hard to catch but they become a little easier at this time of year. Smaller lake trout are frequently caught during late October.

On Bolder Mountain, brook trout grow surprisingly big and this is the prime time to catch them.

Walleye are also very active during the fall and several trophy fish will be caught during the next few weeks at Willard, Deer Creek and Starvation.

And at Strawberry, big cutthroat are cruising the shorelines where they can be caught from boat and shore. Minnow-imitating lures are good bets right now. In recent years the Lucky Craft Pointer Minnow has become the lure of choice at Strawberry. I like and use them, but also often use traditional Rapalas. A medium-sized Rapala in rainbow colors can be killer during fall.

Paul Birdsey, cold water sport fisheries coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources, says October is his favorite month to fish. “There’s no better time to fish,” Birdsey says, “and the beautiful fall scenery and the cooler temperatures aren’t the only reasons why.”

Birdsey says at the end of September or the start of October, lakes and reservoirs in Utah experience what he calls their “fall turnover.”

“Basically,” he says, “the water mixes. As the water on the surface cools, it sinks to the bottom of the reservoir. As the water sinks, it pushes the water on the bottom of the reservoir up to the top.”

This swirling motion brings material from the deeper layers of the lake or reservoir into the upper layers. All of the sudden, algae starts to bloom. As the algae blooms, zooplankton feed on the algae. Then, the zooplankton bloom too.

Suddenly, abundant food is available for bait fish and sport fish throughout the lake or reservoir. “During this period of time,” Birdsey says, “the fish go into a ‘feeding frenzy.’”

During the frenzy, Birdsey says you can catch fish from the shore using simple equipment. “A rod and a reel, a bobber and some worms are about all you need,” he says.

Because food is so abundant, fish will spread themselves across the entire body of water. They’ll be in shallow water near shore and in deeper water in the middle of the lake or reservoir. “You can catch fish from the shore or from a boat,” Birdsey says.

And lakes and reservoirs aren’t the only places where fishing improves in October. Fishing in “tailrace” waters (rivers and streams that are below dams) improves as nutrients and cooler water are released into them. Having cooler water temperatures and the sun at a lower angle also improves fishing in all of the rivers and streams in the state, including those that aren’t below dams.

Birdsey says the feeding frenzy usually lasts two to four weeks. “You can still catch fish in late fall,” he says, “but fishing usually isn’t as fast as it is in October.”

Birdsey says the week before Utah’s general rifle buck deer hunt starts is his favorite week of the year to fish. “You can usually have the water to yourself,” he says, “and the fishing is as good as it gets.”

During the week before the rifle deer hunt last fall, Birdsey says he and a friend caught and released 30 to 50 splake in a single day at Joes Valley Reservoir in southeastern Utah.

“We had a blast,” he says.

This year’s rifle buck deer hunt starts Oct. 20.

And even if you’re going out on the big game hunts, you can still get in on the action. “Take your fishing equipment with you,” Birdsey says. “When you’re not hunting in the middle of the day, you’ll have plenty of time to fish.”

Stay updated

You can stay updated on where the best fall fishing is happening in Utah by checking several websites. The following are among the best:

We fished hard hoping to catch a few walleye. Nope. Did catch several fat rainbows. And surprisingly, we caught two nice browns using walleye tactics.

We fished yesterday afternoon. Launched cabout 3:30 pm and fished until after it was fully dark. Big, bright, full moon so we could have kept fishing. It was pretty on the water.

Launced at the main St Park ramp and worked the shoreline up to the Island, then did several loops along the Island's deep-water shorline. We started catching fish immediately. All of the rainbows seemed to be from the same year-class. They were 12-14 inches long, fat and healthy. They hit hard and found hard. Fun to catch.

We tried all kinds of lures, trying to get something deep to entice a walleye. The most productive as an "Orginal Rapala" in rainbow colors. Small. We couldn't keep the rainbows from hitting the Rapala.

I tried bottom-bouncing along the rocky shoreline but just caught Rainbows.

At sunset, Kevin was casting a Lucky Craft into the rocks off The Island and had a fierce hit. In the water the fish looked different and we really hoped it was a walleye, but nope, a brown. I was trolling deep, trying to brush the tops of rocks and I caught another brown.

It was windy, water was choppy, so we couldn't hold any position to jig deep. After the sun went down it became quite cold. The water surface temperature was about 54 F when we started fishing and fell to about 52 F after sundown.

Rainbow fishing was fast during the warmest part of the afternoon but slowed as the sun went down. After sundown they moved somewhere - we couldn't even see them on the graph.

Scofield — Scofield Reservoir has lost its ice cap. That occurred this past Wednesday. And that means some fantastic trout fishing is about to begin.

One of Utah's best trout fishing waters, Scofield Reservoir is just north of the town of Scofield in central Utah. The reservoir is only an hour's drive from Provo. From Salt Lake City, you can reach the reservoir in about 90 minutes.

Stand on the shore; catch lots of fish

Fishing at Scofield is usually best just after the ice leaves the reservoir. That's when hungry trout, trapped under an ice sheet all winter long, finally gain access to food that's on or near the water's surface.

Access to food and a surging metabolism create a feeding frenzy of sorts among the fish. Insects aren't active until later in the spring, so it's easier to entice trout using nightcrawlers and commercial baits, such as salmon eggs.

As the ice comes off, trout can be caught using just about any kind of tackle. A "Barbie" rod and reel, with a worm on a hook, is about as sophisticated as you need to get!

From ice off until June, the water temperature near the bank remains cool enough for trout to school close to shore. That makes spring the perfect time to catch trout from the shore at Scofield.

Baits, lures and flies

Three types of trout rainbow, cutthroat and tiger live in Scofield.

If you're after rainbow trout, nightcrawlers, PowerBait on cheese hooks and salmon eggs are great baits to try.
Tiger trout and cutthroat trout are more predatory than rainbows, so they're often looking for something different than cheese bait or worms.
Spinners and lures will often stimulate a tiger or cutthroat trout to strike. Jake's Spin-A-Lures, Kastmasters, Mepps, Roostertails and Panther Martins are among the best spinners to use at Scofield.
A minnow- or trout-imitating Rapala, in sizes 5 or 7, is also a good choice for both cutthroat and tiger trout.
The best artificial fly pattern to use in the spring at Scofield is a brown or green sparkle leech in sizes 6 to 10.
Natural baits

As far as natural baits go, Utah chubs are an excellent bait to use at Scofield in the spring. Chubs are found in abundance in the reservoir.

You can catch chubs in a minnow trap, and then put them on your hook. But before you can place them on your hook, please remember that the chubs must be dead.

You can fish chubs whole, or you can chop them into chunks that will be easier for the trout to bite.

A sac of trout eggs is another bait that will grab the attention of trout in Scofield in the spring. You can harvest eggs from a female trout, and then bundle the eggs together inside a nylon mesh bag that's about the size of a marble. Hide a hook inside the sac, and then cast it out for the trout to bite.

Please remember, however, that if you take eggs from a trout, the trout you took the eggs from must be counted as part of your trout limit. It's illegal to "squeeze" a fish for eggs and then release her. The trout will die if you do.

DWR Sergeant Stacey Jones says more and more cutthroat trout between 15 and 22 inches long, and ripe with eggs, are being seen in Scofield. Please remember that you may not keep these fish. And you may not strip or "squeeze" them for eggs either.

If you catch a cutthroat trout that's between 15 and 22 inches long, you must release it immediately.

"You may not harvest eggs from cutthroats that are between 15 and 22 inches long," Jones says, "and then release the fish. It's illegal to keep these fish or strip them of their eggs."

Best time to fish

As a general rule, you'll find the best success if you fish early in the morning or later in the evening. The trout rest when the sun climbs. Like many wild animals, trout feed most actively at dawn and dusk.

Regulations

The limit at Scofield is four trout. But not more than two of those trout can be cutthroat or tiger trout under 15 inches long. And not more than one of the four trout can be a cutthroat or tiger trout over 22 inches. All cutthroat and tiger trout from 15 to 22 inches must be released immediately.
You may keep rainbow trout of any size.
Trout may not be filleted. And the heads or tails of the fish may not be removed in the field or in transit from the field to other locations.
The tributaries that flow into Scofield Reservoir are closed until the second Saturday in July to protect cutthroat trout while the cutthroats are spawning.
Take your kids fishing

"When was the last time you took your family on a fishing trip?" asks Brent Stettler, regional conservation outreach manager for the DWR.

"For most of us," he says, "it's been too long. A family trip to Scofield Reservoir is a great way to strengthen family ties and ease tension."

Stettler says we live in a hustle-and-bustle society. Sometimes, we get so busy that we put off having fun.

"So many obligations seem to take a higher priority," he says, "but time slips away. Kids grow up and leave home.

"Give your kids some of childhood's sweetest memories," he says. "Take them fishing.

"And remember, Scofield is a great place to fish in the spring."

More information

The latest fishing reports for Scofield are available at wildlife.utah.gov/hotspots.

If you have questions about fishing at Scofield, call the DWR's office in Price at 435-613-3700.

There was still considerable ice on the Strawberry side. Most bays had a couple hundred yards of open water and then rotten ice out toward the main lake. We walked the shorelines and cast various lures. In some spots we could cast toward the edge of the ice. The fish we caught came from Mud Creek Bay.

We drive over to the Solder Creek side and found it was totally open water. No ice at all. You could launch a boat and have plenty of water to fish. We fished in the cove out from the dam for a few minutes and had several bumps but no hookups there. We saw a few small trout jumping in that area.

It rained on us off and on throughout the afternoon. A steady wind blew, making it hard to fish. It was cold.

With warm temperatures this weekend, the remaining ice will go fast. I suspect there will still be some ice on the main lake on Saturday but it will be difficult to reach the edge without a tube or small boat.

By Monday, I suspect the ice will be pretty much gone.

Roads around the reseroir were open and in good conditions.

Shore fishing should pick up as the water warms a bit. The trout I caught was fat and in great shape. It obviously did well through the winter. Still, fish are hungry and will start to feed aggressively during the next few weeks.

Right now fish can range freely through the water column. They will often come in close to shore to feed. So shore fishing should be good through May.

Strawberry is known to be fickle, for good reason. On any given day action can be very good or dead slow. Even when it is slow, the size and quality of the fish make it worth the effort.

Deer Creek Reservoir has open water and good fishing. Boat ramps are open.

Rockport has still had ice but that should be pulling back or be gone about now.

Strawberry has some fishable open water in front of the Ladders, but ice is still solid over most of the lake. It will still be a few weeks before it will start to pull back.

Lake Powell bass and striped bass are becoming more active and fishing is picking up. Action will be very good in April. Strangely, several rainbow trout have been caught recently in Lake Powell. Read the fishing report here for details.

Streams are running high and many have a little color, but are very fishable. Every day I go on a walk along Hobble Creek, near by home, and watch the trout. They are definitely becoming more active - I'm seeing more fish lurking in feeding lanes.

Yesterday I fished Sixth Water, which is a tributary to Diamond Fork. We hiked into the rugged canyon above the confluence of Sixth Water and Fifth Water, into an area that sees few fishermen. We did well for smaller trout, most about 12 inches long. Our biggest was a 16-inch brown. We caught browns, cutts and one rainbow.

The stream was flowing fast and it was hard to get deep enough to reach the fish. The water was a little muddy but not bad. I fished a Gulp Minnow on a colored jig head and had pretty consistent fishing. My companions fished worms along the bottom and caught more than I did.